Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Berdeltune 1086 DB

• Bertherton l12 AddCh H3 1522 Plea

• Bertherton iuxta Stapelegh 1312 Plea

• molendinum de Bertherton 1354 Eyre

• Berterton 1400 Pat

• Berderton 1522 Plea

• Bartherton H3 AddCh 1621 Orm2 1656 ChRR 1624 NotCestr 1724 TA 1838

• Barterton 1600 Sheaf

• Barterton Hall 1845 ChetOSvii

• Barderton 1605 Chol

• Betherton 1283 Ipm 1293 Plea 1309 Pat 1310 Cl

• Bertheringtone 1283 Sheaf326

• Berdynton 1293 Plea

• Bethtirton 1299 Pat

• (molendinum de) Bertheton 1351 Eyre

• Bretherton 1468 MinAcct

• Batherton 1831 Bry 1842 OS

Etymology

The final el. is tūn 'an enclosure, a farm'. The first el. is probably a pers.n., but the original form is uncertain. DEPN suggests the OE  fem. pers.n. Beornþrȳþ , but ON  fem. Bergþóra would equally well account for the lack of a genitive inflexion in -es . Barnes1 673 suggests an uninflected-genitive construction from the OE  pers.n. Beorhthere , but ON  Bergþórr would do as well here, and either would make this p.n. analogous with Barnton & Bartington 2105, 106. In fact, the material for Bartington, Batherton and Barnton is similar in many respects. The forms Bertheringtone , Berdynton are evidence of an alternative -ingtūn construction for Batherton. The -l - in the DB spelling is AN  substitution for -r -. In Batherton, the forms are rather more representative of the ON  fem. pers.n. Bergþóra than are those in the other p.ns. However, this district, unlike that of Bartington and Barnton, does not contain many other Anglo-Norse p.ns. (cf. Basford 48supra ), and it might be rash to suppose an ON pers.n. here. Ekwall's suggestion of the OE  fem. pers.n. Beornþrȳþ seems very probable.